I’m not sure about you but i’ve been having real problems with the 3G reception on my iPhone. At home it is fine but as soon as i get into work I lose all reception. At first i thought it was just me but soon found out that it was all iPhone users in the office and then I realised that it was all 3G phone users….
But why? The internet was full of blogs claiming that the iPhone 3G reception issues were caused by hardware but that doesn’t explain why non-iPhone 3G users were also having problems. Then i came across this article which explained it all (kind of). Apparently, the iPhone is requesting a little too much power from the antenna. When this is multiplied by several hundred users it is causing interference with the antenna. Simple explanation right?
Mac have since released a couple of builds in an attempt to fix the problem, suggesting that the power request is software controlled. If this is true it is good news for iPhone owners. Of course, if the article is correct then it would require all iPhone owners to upgrade to the latest firmware in order for the problem to be fixed (or a good proportion of them).
My personal opinion is that this is also a 3G network issue. It simple can’t cope with the increased demand since the introducion of the 3G iphone and the REAL fix is to put up more cell towers (not that I advocate this).
NOTE: i work in central london in an office full of iPhone users
Yesterday, Paul Walsh (Segala CEO) was over in Yahoo! to present “How to enable trust/better search” armed with a can of beans.
The event was hosted by Yahoo! at Yahoo!’s Mission College Campus, Santa Clara, California.
The purpose of the event was to present the new technology with real world applications that begin to show what POWDER can do.
POWDER and us
POWDER (The Protocol for Web Description Resources) is a new technology from the W3C that bridges the gap between the traditional Web and the Semantic Web. It’s simple, easy to use and can fit into existing publishing work flows with minimal development effort.
To the end user POWDER delivers more of what you asked for and less of what you don’t want, allows you to judge the trustworthiness of information found on the Web and brings the best of the Web to your browser.
For Publisher’s, POWDER is an easy and inexpensive way to describe lots of things at once (such as everything on a Web site). Is open to authentication so that others know they can trust your data and opens up your data to the Semantic Web.
For Service Provider’s, POWDER supports real-time content personalization, makes discovering relevant & trustworthy content easier and identifies online resources that meet criteria that are not solely based on popularity.
The Agenda
- Welcome, Anne Toth, Yahoo!
- Introduction to POWDER. Phil Archer, Family Online Safety Institute, POWDER Working Group Chair
- The Semantic View, Jeremy Carroll, Top Quadrant
- The QUATRO Project — Authenticated, Machine Readable Trustmarks, Kostas Chandrinos, i-sieve Technologies
- POWDER in your Browser, Phillip Grønvold, Opera Software.
- A commercial view of POWDER, Paul Walsh, Segala
- Tying in with other standards, Matt Womer, W3C
- Comments and discussion from the floor
It’s still early hours in San Franciso so I’ve not had the opportunity to speak with Paul and find out how the event went. But, Paul did manage to drip feed the rest of us via Twitter.
Phil Archer, FOSI, CTO is up first. Talking about POWDER.
I’ve just presented technology that a 10 year old would get. Next guy up is talking about what’s under it - way too technical. But he’s good.
Matt Womer from W3C is up. I like matt.
Opera is now up. But I’m not permitted to tell you what they’re doing.
The Access Guide for Dublin City will be formally launched by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Eibhlin Byrne at the Oak Room, Mansion House, Wednesday September 24th at 6 pm.
What is it? It is an on-line directory which will provide information on access to 100 venues across Dublin City, for people with disabilities. The service is designed to assist anyone who would like to know more about access to venues and service providers in Dublin.
It is all part of Dublin City Councils initiative in making services universally accessible by 2015. To find out more read (Issue 2 Volume 1) of Access Matters in English or in Irish
Access Matters is a Dublin City Council publication that keeps you informed of the progress.
You can download your invitation to the launch on the Dublin City Council Web site. I’ll be there so if you pop along be sure to say Hello 
We are looking for a developer with the following skills:
- db/front-end development
- Java workflow
- XML on document level
- JavaScript
Our client, a traditional publishing business, who are looking to shift from document based system into a JAVA/XML based system.
The position is a temp contract and based in London. If you fancy a change in location (unless you live in London already) then please get in touch with me adrian@segala.com
The Mobile Web Best Practices working group has just published a first public working draft of their guidelines for developing and delivering mobile web applications.
If you already build and deliver mobile web applications or plan to then your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Just a quick note to say that the Mobile Web Best Practices has been rubber stamped as a W3C Recommendation and now officially known as Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0, offering practical advice on creating mobile friendly content.
“Mobile Web content developers now have stable guidelines and maturing tools to help them create a better mobile Web experience,” said Dominique Hazaël-Massieux, W3C Mobile Web Activity Lead. “In support of the W3C mission of building One Web, we want to support the developer community by providing tools to enable a great mobile Web user experience.”
Well done to the working group for all their efforts in getting this approved.